I remember attending a Dan Kennedy event years ago with over 3,000 people in the audience. He was talking about writing copy…not just creating it, but how the ideas transfer from your head to the paper. 

He wasn’t talking about TYPING copy out…but using a pen and a legal pad to write.

GASP! Most of us were appalled.

Why would you write with ancient tools when we have access to such convenient computers? In fact, only a handful in the room actually claimed to write their copy by hand.

“No wonder copywriting is a dying art,” he said. 

And that’s the trick most copywriters know about but few will actually do…

If you’ve already made up your mind you aren’t going to try this, no need to torture yourself further… 

But if you’re open to drastically improving your skills, come with me on a journey to discover how this mysterious act can make all the difference in your final product. 

No matter how you get the words out of your grey matter, the first thing you must do is steep yourself in research about your topic.

The foundation always comes first whenever you’re building anything. 

Once you have a strong grasp of your topic…what people are venting about in private groups, the story behind the product, how it works, and what problems it solves…step away from the computer.

And write the key points out BY HAND.

I know, I know. It’s a hassle.

But only because we aren’t used to it. This is another case of where stepping out of your comfort zone will amp up your creative juices.

Crafting on a computer where you can bang out the words, make revisions, and actually read your own writing is faster. No doubt about it.

And that’s the whole point…

Handwriting forces you to sloooooow down. It’s like an ingenuity switch for your brain.

Ideas flow freely, unfiltered and unedited. So you become more economical about word choice. Rambling sentences automatically get weeded out over more direct phrasing. 

You’ll be drawn to use simpler language, which is crucial in readability.

Time seems to slow down and you can savor your thoughts as your pen glides across the paper.

But beware…

One of the major problems copywriters tend to have is they edit themselves too soon. And they unwittingly kill some elegant ideas.

Don’t destroy your fledgling concepts before they have a chance to grow. So don’t over-edit yourself. Get it all out.

Write first. Edit later.

I’m not saying the handwritten piece will be your final product. It won’t be. Eventually you’ll transfer it to a word processor doc…and it’ll become even MORE refined.

But handwriting unlocks a part of your brain that typing on a word processor can’t access.

For one thing, handwriting increases the neural activity in areas of the brain that typing just can’t compete with. Magnetic resonance imaging shows that writing by hand is similar to meditation. 

And let’s face it, when your mind is relaxed, it’s free to be more creative. Ohm.

So, pretend you’re in a time warp before there were computers.

Grab your old-fashioned pen & paper and let’s get writing!